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Earth Treks gym is open for those ready to climb walls

Sebastian Lang looks down as he completes his ascent on one of the climbing routes on the walls of Earth Treks. The 7-year-old said the hardest part of his effort was when he looked down and realized how high he had climbed. But he was wearing a harness and had a person on the floor to keep him safe and allow him to belay his way down.

Tom Munds

Earth Treks climbing instructor Jay Thurston plans his route up a bouldering wall. "I can't tell you how much I love the rush of adrenaline when I make it to the top," Thurston said.

Emily Camp smiled as she emerged from Earth Treks facility at 1050 W. Hampden Ave. in Englewood after spending a couple hours on the facility's indoor climbing walls.

“I am an avid climber and I have been a member of the Earth Treks climbing wall in Golden since 2014,” she said. “I like climbing because it helps keep me physically fit, which is important because I am a fitness instructor.”

She said she liked the Englewood facility because the wall is taller than the one in Golden.

“This is a beautiful facility,” she said. “They have a lot of choices for climbing which are challenging, and that is part of what makes climbing fun.”

The Earth Treks in Englewood opened Aug. 31, and the company touts it as the nation's largest indoor climbing facility. It is in the south building on what once was the Sports Authority campus, and is easily reached from Jason Street just north of Kenyon Avenue.

She explained that the company raised a portion of the roof to create a vertical space 55 feet tall, and that with the overhanging terrain at the top of some walls, the facility offers climbing lengths of up to 65 feet “to challenge our climbers.”

“Our facility offers 500 possible climbing routes,” Barnett said. “We have routes for hand climbers as well as routes for those who prefer to use a belaying harness and rope.”

She said the layout of the facility could accomodate up to about 400 climbers at a time. No climbers would be taking the same route, so the none of the walls or routes would be crowded.

Climbers can buy day passes to use the facility or they can buy a membership that is valid at the Englewood and Golden facilities. Barnett said there is a special offer of a membership for $59, which is half price. The price will be available until Oct. 31. The facility also offers child care, which costs $7 an hour for non-members and $5 an hour for Earth Treks members.

Earth Treks will also be home to a climbing team that competes against teams from other facilities.

“We also will have a recreational climbing club that for the younger climbers from 8-year-olds to young men and women in high school,” Barnett said. “We will be holding tryouts in the fall for the teams.”

The facility draws climbers of all ages. Sebastian Lang was climbing for the first time Aug. 31.

His mother said he has always been a good climber, so they brought him to Earth Treks so he could try its facilities.

After he completed about an hour of instruction and practice on the walls, the 7-year-old said climbing is a lot of fun.

“This kind of climbing is new to me,” he said. “It was challenging. I liked being in harness but the hardest thing still was when I looked down. I knew that I was safe but it still was a little scary being that high off the ground. It was scary but still it was a lot of fun and I want to come back and climb the walls again.”